Method and system, computer program comprising program code means, and computer program product for forming a graph structure in order to describe an area with a free area and an occupied area

ABSTRACT

A graph structure is generated to describe an area with a free area and an occupied area. In this case a topological graph structure for the free area is determined. A point of the topological graph structure is selected and for this a nearest adjacent occupied area point is determined. For this nearest adjacent occupied area point location information is determined. The graph structure is formed from at least the selected point of the topological graph structure and from the associated location information of the nearest adjacent occupied area point.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and hereby claims priority to PCTApplication No. PCT/DE03/03121 filed on Sep. 19, 2003 and GermanApplication No. 10249422.3 filed on Oct. 23, 2002, the contents of whichare hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to generation of a graph structure for descriptionof an area with a free area and an occupied area.

Repetitious activities are being transferred ever more frequently toservice robots. Examples of such activities are cleaning tasks,transport tasks, bringing out grain to the appropriate areas or taskssuch as lawn mowing.

To execute the relevant area processing the appropriate area processingequipment such as cleaning equipment or cutting equipment is installedon such service robots.

Efficient processing of the areas by the service robots requires thatthe area processing device covers the entire area to be processed wherepossible and does not travel down the same path twice where possible.

This however requires planning of a suitable efficient processing path.

Path planning methods in general require a knowledge of the geometricalcircumstances of the area to be processed. This includes for exampleinformation about the dimensions of the area to be processed and thepositions and dimensions of obstacles within it.

As a rule digital, geometrical maps are used in which the relevantgeometrical circumstances of the area to be processed are stored. Suchgeometrical circumstances appear in these geometrical maps as what areknown as free areas, for example obstacle-free and processable surfaces,and also as occupied areas, such as areas occupied by obstacles whichcannot be processed.

In concrete terms such geometrical maps correspond to what are known aspixel images of which the pixels are assigned image and/or colorinformation in each case. Such pixel images, such as gray scale maps orcolor images which are used and/or analyzed and evaluated in imageprocessing and/or object recognition also enable a distinction to bemade between free areas and occupied areas.

With the appropriate prior knowledge such a digital geometrical map canbe created in advance and stored in a service robot. In this case thepath planning method or the path planning can be executed in advance.The path to be traveled is known at the start of area processing.

A digital, geometrical map can also be created dynamically during anactual area processing operation. In this case path planning isundertaken during area processing.

Various methods of generating such geometrical maps are known fromSebastian Thrun, “Robotic Mapping: a Survey”, February 2002CMU-CS-02-11, in G. Lakemeyer, B. Nebel (eds.), “Exploring AI in the NewMillennium”, Chapter 1, Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco and obtainablefrom:http://www2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/thrun/public_html/papers/thrun.mapping-tr.html(“the Thrun reference”), A. Elfes, “Occupancy Grids: A ProbabilisticFramework for Robot Perception and Navigation”, Department of Electricaland Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University 1989 (“the Elfesreference”), and H. P Moravec, “sensors Fusion in certainty grids formobile robots”, AI Magazine, 9(2): 61-74, 1988 (“the Moravecreference”).

Path planning methods based on these geometrical maps are also known.Different path planning methods are given as examples below.

So-called template-based methods for full-coverage path planning whichuse such geometrical maps are known from C. Hofner and G. Schmidt, PathPlanning And Guidance Techniques For An Autonomous Mobile CleaningRobot, International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems(IROS), pp. 610-617, 1994, R. Neumann de Carvalho, H. A. Vidal, P.Vieira, and M. I. Ribeiro, Complete Coverage Path Planning and Guidancefor Cleaning Robots, IEEE International Symposium on IndustrialElectronics, pp. 677-682, 1997, and H. Choset and P. Pignon, CoveragePath Planning: The Boustrophedon Cellular Decomposition, InternationalConference on Field and Service Robotics, 1997, for example. A furtherpath planning method A. Zelinsky, R. A. Jarvis, J. C. Byarne and S.Yuta, Planning Paths of Complete Coverage of an Unstructered Environmentby a Mobile Robot, International Conference on Robotica and Automation(ICRA), pp. 533-538, 1993, which also uses a geometrical digital map,but adopts another approach, uses a potential field, with which an areato be processed is overlaid and a processing path thus determined.Further map-based path planning methods with a similar approach based ongeometrical maps are known from E. Prassler, D. Schwammkrug, B.Rohrmoser, and G. Schmidl, Autonomous Road Sweeping of Large PublicAreas, Robotik 2000, VDI Reports 1552, VDI Verlag GmbH, Dusseldorf, 2000and E. Prassler, D. Schwammkrug, B. Rohrmoser, and G. Schmidl, A RoboticRoad Sweeper, International Conference on Robotica and Automation(ICRA), pp. 2364-2369, 2000.

As well as being used for determining a processing path, suchgeometrical maps also serve as the basis for determining the currentposition or a location of a mobile robot in an area (positionestimation). This is referred to as localization or global localization.Furthermore such geometrical maps are also used for orientation andnavigation of the robot in an area.

Corresponding methods for localization or global localization,orientation and navigation of mobile robots, based on geometrical maps,are also known, for example from Howie Choset et al., “topologySimultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM): Toward Exact LocalizationWithout Explicit Localisation”, S. 125-137, IEEE Transactions onRobotics and Automation, Vol. 17, No. 2, April 2001 (“the Choset et al.reference”).

The disadvantage of these geometrical maps is that they need significantstorage space or are dependent on one type of environment. In addition,for relocalization for example, they require long computing times.

Further disadvantages are the effort involved in the creation of suchgeometrical maps and that the maps themselves are mostly inaccurate,especially in large and/or unstructured environments.

These geometrical maps thus prove to be of only limited use for thelocalization of robots in dynamically changing environments Currentenvironments and in some cases those which are subject to justshort-term changes, such as a person being in the area, or shelving andsuch like temporarily placed in the area lead to changed current localsection maps, i.e. to changes in the free areas and the occupied areas,and, because of the changes, these sectional maps can only be reflectedwith difficulty in the geometrical (basic) map.

As a rule this requires time-consuming and memory-intensive correlationprocedures. Feature-based search procedures fail if environment elementsare changed in such a way that, because they are covered up they can nolonger be recognized.

The same problem arises not only in the interpretation of the pixelimages as geometrical maps but also for object detection in color imagesor gray scale maps.

In addition to such geometrical maps, topological maps are also knownfor localization and navigation of mobile robots in an area.

These topological maps use a graph or a graph structure to describe anarea which as a rule is generated from a contiguous sequence of nodesand connectors.

So-called Voronoi Graphs (VG) or Generalized Voronoi Graphs (GVG) theChoset et al. reference, D. Van Zwynsvoorde et al., “Incrementaltopology Modeling using Local Voronoi-like Graphs”, Paper Submitted toIEEE Int. Conf. On Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2000 (“theZwynsvoorde et al. Incremental topology reference”), D. Van Zwynsvoordeet al., “Building topology models for navigation in large scaleenvironments”, LAAS-CNRS, Toulouse, France, 2001 (“the Zwynsvoorde etal. Builing topology reference”) as well as the “medial axis” are knownexamples of these kinds of topologically used or “topological” graphs orgraph structures Philip N. Klein et al., “Shape matching usingeditdistance: an implementation”, Twelfth Annual ACM-SIAM Symposium onDiscrete Algorithms, SODA 2001, Dept. of Computer Science, BrownUniversitiy, Providence (“the Klein et al. reference”), the Choset etal. reference. The “medial axis” (MA) is formed in this case by thelocations or the set of circle center points of all circles of a maximumsize which lie completely within the enclosed area and touch at leasttwice.

However these topological graphs only describe free parts of an area,they do not explicitly describe the occupied area or the obstacles inthe area and do not describe these in a form such as would make itpossible to reproduce the obstacles.

The free areas are described structurally and not metrically in suchcases by the graphs, i.e. more precise geometrical information about thearea, such as distances or dimensions for obstacles cannot be taken fromthe graphs as a rule.

Therefore such “topological” graphs, such as Voronoi graphs or medialaxis, have only limited suitability for localization or globallocalization, orientation or navigation of a mobile robot.

A Shock Graph (SG) is known from the Klein et al. reference which isused in this document in image processing or object detection forstructural description of areas and shapes enclosed by outlines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One possible object of the invention is to provide a description of anarea with free areas and occupied areas which is simple to determine andto represent and also requires little memory space.

In addition it is however to include sufficient information andespecially information that remains robust if environmentalcircumstances change, to enable it to be used for object detection inimage processing, as well as for localization or relocalization,orientation or navigation of a mobile robot, especially in dynamicenvironments.

The inventors propose a method for generation of a graph structure fordescription of an area with a free area and an occupied area atopological graph structure for the free area of the area is determined.At least one point of the topological graph structure is selected. Forthe selected point of the topological graph structure a nearest adjacentoccupied point in the area is determined, which nearest point lies in anoccupied area and features a shortest distance to the selected point ofthe topological graph structure. Location information is determined forthe nearest adjacent point in the occupied area. The graph structure isat least formed from the selected point of the topological graphstructure and from the associated location information of the nearestadjacent obstacle point.

The system for generating a graph structure to describe an area with afree area and an occupied area refers to the following units which arein contact with one another,

-   -   a structure determination unit with which a topological graph        structure for the free area of the area can be determined,    -   a selection unit with which at least one point of the        topological graph structure can be selected,    -   with a unit for identifying obstacles, with which a nearest        point in the occupied area can be determined for a selected        point of the topological graph structure, this nearest occupied        point lying in an occupied area and features a shortest distance        to the selected point of the topological graph structure,    -   with a location determination unit with which location        information for the nearest adjacent occupied area point can be        determined,    -   with a structure generation unit, with which the graph structure        can be formed from at least the selected point of the        topological graph structure and from the associated location        information of the nearest occupied area point.

Viewed in concrete terms, by contrast to known digital geometrical maps,in which the entire area with all occupied areas or obstacles is stored,the invention only stores the form and topology of a free area inefficient form, in this case using a topologically employed or“topological” graph or graph structure, such as for example a ShockGraph, a “medial axis” or a Voronoi Graph.

If required but not necessarily, these topological graphs or graphstructures can be enriched (annotated) by suitable further information,for example displacement information, which for example leads to aso-called annotated medial axis. These types of annotated topologicalgraphs are however—as a special embodiment of topological graphstructures—still topological graphs in the sense of the invention.

In this context reference is made to document previously unpublishedGerman Patent Application with the official Designation DE 102 47 772.8(“DE '772”) which describes the generation of topological graphstructures in general and the formation of annotated topological graphsin particular, as well as making further statements related to thepresent invention. Thus document DE '772 is fully part of the presentembodiments.

Starting from the topological graph, at least one point is selected andfor this the nearest obstacle point, i.e. nearest adjacent point of anoccupied area—as a rule a point on an edge of the nearest obstacle orthe nearest occupied area—is determined. For this nearest occupied areapoint or obstacle point, referred to as a generator, securityinformation is determined, which uniquely describes the position of thegenerator (relative to the selected point of the topological graph or inabsolute terms).

Thus for example the location information of the generator can becoordinates of the latter.

The graph structure, also referred to below as the generator graph, isformed from at least the selected point of the topological graphstructure and from the associated location information of the generator.

It is especially advantageous that the graph structure or the generatorgraph formed in this way is robust as regards changes in the area, i.e.as regards environment dynamics. The use of the generator makes a majorcontribution here.

This means that the invention opens up a wide area of application,namely wherever digital pixel images are used. Thus the invention isespecially suited to the localization of mobile units as well asspecifically for object recognition, as well as for image processing ingeneral.

The computer program is designed to execute all steps when the programis run on a computer.

The computer program product stored in machine-readable form on a datamedium is set up to execute all the steps in accordance with the methodin accordance with the invention when the program is run on a computer.

The system and also the computer program product set up to execute allsteps in accordance with the inventive method when the program is run ona computer, as well as the computer program product stored on amachine-readable medium, set up to execute all steps in accordance withthe inventive method when the program is executed on a computer areespecially suited to execute the method in accordance with the inventionor of one of its further developments listed below.

The developments described below relate to both the method and to thesystem.

The method can be implemented both in software and also in hardware, forexample by using an application specific integrated circuit.

Further the realization or of a development described below is possiblethrough a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer programproduct is stored which executes the method.

Also the method described below can be realized by a computer programproduct which features a storage medium on which a computer programproduct is stored which executes the method.

Shock Graphs the Klein et al. reference or a “medial axis” the Klein etal. reference, the Choset et al. reference or also Voronoi Graphs theChoset et al. reference, the Zwynsvoorde et al. Incremental topologyreference, the Zwynsvoorde et al. Builing topology reference orcorresponding methods for forming the types of graphs given as examplescan be used to form the topological graph structure. The graphsgenerated as a rule feature a sequence of nodes and connectors.

With a further development the location information of the nearestadjacent occupied point in the area or obstacle is relative locationinformation with regard to the selected point, especially displacementinformation and direction information. Alternatively the locationinformation can also be absolute location information, especiallycoordinates of the nearest occupied area point or obstacle point.

It also makes sense to select a plurality of points of the topologicalgraph structure for which a plurality of selected points of the nearestoccupied area point or obstacle point are determined in each case. Thegraph structure or the generator graph is then formed from all selectedpoints and the associated location information.

When the one or more selected points are chosen a regularity of thetopological graph structure can be taken into account. The more regularthe topological graph structure is, the fewer selected points aresufficient to describe the topological graph structure. But in suchcases an interpolation between the selected points approximates to theunderlying graph structure.

Further it can be useful for one or more nodes of the topological graphstructure to be chosen as the selected point or the selected points.

However it should be noted that in principle each point of thetopological graph structure can be selected without restricting itsgeneral applicability.

It is also possible for the selected point of the topological graphstructure to determine at least one further nearest obstacle point or aplurality of further nearest obstacle points for which the associatedlocation information will then be determined. These can then also betaken into consideration for the formation of the graph structure.

In combination with the further developments proposed below it ispossible to select a node point of the topological graph structure andto determine for the node point at least two nearest adjacent occupiedarea points or obstacle points and their associated locationinformation.

As a development the topological graph structure can be supplemented bythe graph structure.

Furthermore the topological graph structure can be determined by using ageometrical map of the area, especially a local geometrical grid map,and/or by using sensor measurements which generate distance information,especially laser measurements, ultrasound measurements or measurementsfrom video systems.

Further the method can be used to describe an overall area having aplurality of areas by using an overall graph structure, thus for imageprocessing, for image encoding and/or a description of geometrical map.

In this case the graph structure is determined for a plurality of areasin each case. The graph structure is then merged to form the overallgraph structure.

With a further development in the environment of a localization task alocal grid map is created for a part area of the overall area. Asubgraph structure of the overall graph structure is selected, in whichcase the subgraph structure contains at least one selected point of thelocation information of the at least one associated nearest adjacentobstacle point. The selected subgraph structure is compared with thelocal grid map, for example through overlaying or correlation, in whichcase the nearest obstacle points of the subgraph structure arereproduced. Further the overlaid nearest adjacent obstacle pointreproduced is then compared with an obstacle point of the local gridmap.

Developing the above approach, a plurality of subgraph structures of theoverall structure can be selected, of which each will be overlaid withthe local grid map. Depending on the relevant comparison the local gridmap is assigned to one of the selected subgraph structures. Informationabout a position or for localization can then be derived from this, forexample in such a way that the subgraph structure assigned to the localgrid map describes a position to be localized.

Furthermore the method described can be used for a localization and/ornavigation of a mobile unit. In this case the mobile unit is localizedas described using the graph structure and/or navigated using the graphstructure.

The topological graph structure can further be determined using ageometrical map of the area, especially of a local geometrical grid map,and/or using sensor measurements generating distance information,especially laser/ultrasound measurements or measurements from videosystems.

The method can also be used for the construction of larger, global areadescriptions, i.e. correspondingly structured maps.

In this case the associated graph structure is determined in each casefor a plurality of areas of an overall area. Subsequently the graphstructures of the areas are combined or merged into an overall graphstructure, the structured map.

As a development this structured map of the overall area or of theoverall map structure can also now be used for a localization, forexample of a mobile unit, which is moving or is located in a part of theoverall area.

For this purpose the associated graph structure is determined for thispart or this part area. Subsequently the graph structure of the partarea is compared with the overall graph structure and the graphstructure of the subgraph structure corresponding to the part area isdetermined in the overall graph structure. On the basis of the subgraphstructure or its position in the overall graph structure the mobile unitcan be localized.

To perform the comparison various procedures based on known methods areavailable such as for example a hierarchical exclusion procedure and/orstatistical matching procedure and/or a “constraint propagation” method.Security during comparison can be increased it necessary if the givenmethods are applied in combination with each other.

In further developments the method can especially be used with mobileunits such as mobile robots. In this case using the method of operation,tasks for mobile units such as a localization, orientation and/or pathplanning tasks can be resolved.

In such cases the mobile unit is localized using at the graph structureand/or navigated using the latter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent and more readily appreciated from the followingdescription of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a sketch of a local geometrical grid map;

FIG. 2 is a sketch of a local subgraph annotated with distanceInformation of a subarea or a medial axis of the subarea annotated withdistance Information;

FIG. 3 is a sketch of a global overall graph annotated with distanceinformation all of an overall area (color-coded or of the medial axisannotated with Distance Information an overall area (color-coded);

FIG. 4 is a sketch of a global overall graph annotated with DistanceInformation of an overall area with obstacles reconstructed from adistance information reference lines of the a free area;

FIG. 5 is a sketch of an overall a airier with obstacles to be processedby a mobile robot (Environment) with the mobile robot at a currentposition;

FIG. 6 is a sketch of a local subgraph annotated with displacementInformation of that subarea in which the mobile robot from FIG. 5 iscurrently located;

FIG. 7 is a sketch of a global overall graph annotated with displacementinformation of the overall area from FIG. 5 with color-coded positionprobabilities of the mobile robot at nodes of the overall graph(localization);

FIG. 8 is a sketch of procedural steps for the localization of a mobilerobot in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9 a to FIG. 9 c are sketches of an overall area to be processed bya mobile robot with obstacles (environment) with the mobile robot at acurrent position (FIG. 9 a), Sketch of the associated medial axis of theoverall area (FIG. 9 b) as well as sketch of the medial axis of theoverall reduced to the selected points (FIG. 9 c);

FIG. 10 a and FIG. 10 b are sketches of a medial axis of the overallarea reduced to selected points with associated generators (generatorgraph);

FIG. 11 a to FIG. 11 d are sketches which describe the use of agenerator graph for a localization of a mobile robot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout.

Exemplary embodiment Localization of a mobile robot in an overall areaby a generator graph formed by a topological graph

FIG. 8 shows procedural steps 810 to 860 (FIG. 8, 800) for alocalization of an autonomous mobile robot in and overall area by agenerator graph formed using a topological graph.

The mobile robot, in the embodiment a cleaning robot, is equipped withitems such as cleaning equipment, a plurality of laser scanners, sensorsfor measuring displacements and distances as well as a computation orevaluation unit.

The overall area 500 (cf. FIG. 5), in the embodiment an area to becleaned, is restricted on all sides by walls 501 and obstacles 502placed against the walls 501, such as shelves and cupboards. There arealso further different obstacles 503 in the overall area 500 which areto be considered for cleaning with a mobile robot.

For autonomous operation of the robot its laser scanners continuouslyrecord images of an environment of the robot and feed the images takento the robot's computation unit. Here the images are stored andevaluated further.

The further evaluation of the images also includes the localizationprocedure described below 800 in accordance with FIG. 8 with theprocedural steps 810 to 860 together with FIGS. 1 to 7 as well as 9 to11

FIG. 8 shows:

-   -   Procedural step 1) Ongoing construction of a local geometrical        grid map of an environment (810; FIG. 1),    -   Procedural step 2): Construction of a local graph enriched by        distance information (local, annotated medial axis; 820),    -   Procedural step 3) coalescence of locally annotated graphs into        a global annotated graph structure (830),    -   Procedural step 4) Formation of a generator graph from the        global annotated graph structure through supplementary        references to generators (840; FIGS. 9 a-9 c, 10 a and 10 b),    -   Procedural step 5) formation of a local grid map (pixel map;        850),    -   Procedural step 6) Finding the part of the generator graph        associated with the local grid map (localization; 860; FIG. 11        a-d).

Procedural step 1) Ongoing construction of a local geometrical grid mapof an environment (810; FIG. 1)

FIG. 1 shows a local geometrical grid map 100 of the local, i.e. nearer,environment of the mobile robot 110 and thereby of the local section ofthe overall area. Such a local geometrical grid map 100 is constantlycreated and or constructed or stored during the journey of a mobilerobot 110.

To this end the mobile robot 100 constantly “scans” the environmentduring its journey by its laser scanner, creates pictures of itsenvironment in this way and from these creates the local, geometricalgrid maps.

Simultaneously, by the sensors, displacements and distances to the walls121 and obstacles 122 are determined and these are integrated into localgeometrical maps 100 (displacement map, cf. procedural step 6)).

The corresponding methods for creation or construction of such local,geometrical grid maps are described in the Thrun reference, the Elfesreference, and the Moravec reference.

In this case the local, geometrical grid map 100 described in FIG. 1shows a passage 120 which is limited through the walls 121 and theobstacles 122. Areas not blocked by obstructions are also referred to asfree areas.

Procedural step 2) Construction of a local graph enriched bydisplacement information

(local, annotated medial axis, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2)

Starting from such a local geometrical grid map 100, 200 as well asusing the corresponding displacement information for the walls 121, 221and the obstacles 122, 222 a “medial axis” 124, 214 annotated with thedisplacement information is defined in the free area 123, 223.

First a non-annotated “medial axis” is determined here. Correspondingmethods for determining a non-annotated “medial axis” are described inthe Klein et al. reference, the Choset et al. reference. In this casethe created, non-annotated “medial axis” features a sequence of nodes130, 230 and connectors 131, 231.

These, i.e. both the connectors 131, 231 and also the nodes 130, 231,are subsequently assigned the relevant associated displacementinformation (annotated).

The information is assigned such that the distance or the displacementto the nearest object, i.e. to the next nearest obstacle 122, 222 or thenext nearest wall 121, 221 is assigned to each node 130, 230 and eachconnector 131, 231. This annotates the initially unannotated “medialaxis” and thereby enriches it with the displacement information.

Numerical displacement values or distances are assigned, in which case,to clarify the annotated “medial axis” this is shown color-coded inaccordance with the relevant assigned displacement values in the localgeometrical grid map 100, 200.

Procedural step 3) Coalescence of local annotated graphs into a global,annotated graph structure (FIG. 3 and FIG. 4).

During the journey of a mobile robot 110, 210 the local, annotatedgraphs or “medial axis” 224, 324 determined are now fused or coalescedinto a global annotated environment graph 325, 400 (global annotatedgraph structure).

To this end new parts of a local, annotated graph 324, 401 are added tothe global, annotated environment graphs 325, 400 and/or part of theglobal, annotated environment graph 325, 400 is replaced by part of alocal, annotated graph 324, 401.

To add new parts of the graph or to replace parts of the graph thedecision has to be made as to which parts of the graph are new. This isdone by “matching” two local, annotated graphs and/or “matching” alocal, annotated graph with the global, annotated environment graph,taking account of the movement of the mobile robot in each case.

The starting point at the beginning of the coalescence is the partlyexisting and stored global, annotated environment graph or—if such agraph does not yet exist—of a local, annotated graph, which is expandedor built into the global, annotated environment graph.

At the end of the coalescence there is a completely constructed global,annotated environment graph of the overall area. FIGS. 6 and 7 showfurther sketches of annotated environment graphs.

Procedural step 4) Formation of a generator graph from the global,annotated graph structure or the environment graph through supplementaryreferences to generators (840; FIGS. 9 a-9 c, 10 a and 10 b)

FIG. 9 a shows a geometrical grid map 900 of the environment 901 of themobile robot 110 and thereby of the overall area 901 to be processed byrobot 110.

Obstacles 902 as well as free areas 903 can be seen in the overall area901

FIG. 9 b shows the global, annotated environment graph 905 of thisoverall area 901. The path of the medial axis 906 is illustrated by aplurality of medial axis points 907.

FIG. 9 c a “reduced” environment graph 910 obtained from the global,annotated environment graph 905.

With this reduced environment graph 910 various points are selected fromthe plurality of medial axis points 907 which selected medial axispoints 911 also sketch the path of the medial axis 906.

On the basis of the reduced environment graph 910 the generator graph1000 shown in FIGS. 10 a and 10 b is created.

To this end the two next edge pixels 1001 or 1002 are determined foreach selected medial axis point 911. Since these edge pixels 1001, 1002span the medial axis 906 they are also referred to as generators.

The generators 1001, 1002 are stored together with the selected medialaxis points 911 in the generator graph 1000 (FIG. 10 a).

In addition there are points 1005 on the medial axis 906 which have morethan two generators 1001, 1002 (FIG. 10 b). These points 1005 are thecrossings 1004. Crossings 1004 are of interest for localization sincethey lie at a canonical position. They can therefore be used as alandmark.

The crossings 1004 or these points 1005 are also stored in the generatorgraph because they are helpful for the localization.

In addition the mid point or medial axis points 1010 of the circles 1011which have a maximum displacements from the edge are stored. Theconfiguration of these points 1010, as well as the width of the freearea at the location are information, which can determine the signatureof a crossing.

Procedural step 5) Forming a local grid map (pixel map, cf. FIG. 111102; 850)

FIG. 5 shows the mobile robot 510 at a position 520 in the overall area500 which is not known for it.

At this unknown position 520 the mobile robot 510 creates a localgeometrical grid map 1102 according to the known procedures describedabove (cf. procedural step 1)).

To do this the mobile robot 100 “scans” the environment at the positionnot known to it, creates an image of the environment in this way andfrom this creates the local, geometrical grid map (pixel map, 1102).

If necessary this pixel map 1102 can be expanded further into adisplacement map (cf. procedural step.

Procedural step 6): Finding the part of the generator graph associatedwith the local (geometrical) grid map (position determination andlocalization; 860; FIG. 11 a-d).

The task for localization or position determination is now to determinethose subgraphs of the generator graph which describe the localgeometrical grid map—determined at the unknown position (cf. proceduralstep 5)). This is done by comparison or overlaying or projection of anassumed part generator graph 1101 with the pixel map 1102.

For the localization the comparison is not now undertaken at the levelof the topological graph structure or at the level of the medial axis,but one or two levels lower, meaning at the level of the displacementmap (cf. procedural step 1)) or even at the level of the pixel map 1102.

The displacement map is produced, as previously described (cf.procedural step 1)) as an intermediate step in the generation of themedial axis. It contains the displacement of a pixel from the nextobstacle or to the next obstacle edge.

In the ideal case this displacement should be zero for all projectedpixels during the localization, or at least very small, also with anyadditional obstacles.

FIG. 11 a shows an overlaying or projection or an assumed part generatorgraph 1101 with the pixel map 1102 for a correct assumption or positionassumption. FIG. 11 b shows the overlaying for an incorrect assumptionor position assumption.

Each drawn line 1120 in FIGS. 11 a to 11 d has precisely two equallylong paths 1121 or 1122, starting from a medial axis point 1130 (medialaxes not shown) through to the two generators 1131 or 1132 of this point1130.

If the assumed position is correct these routes 1121, 1122 always end ator near obstacle edges (FIG. 11 a) or the generators 1131, 1132 come tolie on obstacle edges.

If the assumed position is incorrect displacements 1135 are producedbetween the generators 1131, 1132 and obstacle edges. Thesedisplacements 1135 can be used as a measure (overall displacementmeasure) for the quality of the assumption or as a measure for thematching of the overlaying.

The robustness of the generator graph 1101 in respect of environmentdynamics is clearly shown in FIGS. 11 c and 11 d.

FIGS. 11 c and 11 d show the change of the medial axis 1150 or 1151 foran environment dynamic, in this case persons simulated by points 1160.

FIGS. 11 c and 11 d show a clear change in the center axis 1150 or 1151for the obstacles produced by the environment dynamics, in this case thepersons 1160. This makes it difficult to make a comparison at the levelof the medial axis.

For the comparison at the level of the generator graph 1101 or thegenerators 1131, 1132 not much changes for environment dynamic.

A likelihood that with an incorrect position assumption a generator1131, 1132 will fall on an obstacle edge produced by the environmentdynamic is slight.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference topreferred embodiments thereof and examples, but it will be understoodthat variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit andscope of the invention.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A method for forming a graph to describe a location having a free area and an occupied area, comprising: determining a topological graph structure for the free area; selecting a point in the topological graph structure; for the selected point of the topological graph structure, determining an adjacent occupied area; selecting an occupied point for the adjacent occupied area, the occupied point being at a shortest distance to the selected point of the topological graph structure; determining associated location information for the occupied point; and forming the graph from the selected point of the topological graph structure and from the associated location information for the occupied point.
 22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the topological graph structure is determined using a Shock graph, a “medial axis” or a Voronoi graph.
 23. The method in accordance with claim 21, wherein the location information for the adjacent occupied area is relative location information with regard to the selected point, including displacement information and direction information, the direction information comprising an angle specification.
 24. The method in accordance with claim 21, wherein the location information for the adjacent occupied area is absolute location information comprising coordinates of the adjacent occupied area.
 25. The method in accordance with claim 21, wherein a plurality of points are selected in the topological graph structure, for each selected point an occupied point is selected and location information is determined, and the graph structure is formed from all selected points and the associated location information.
 26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the selected points are selected depending on a regularity of the topological graph structure, and fewer points are selected for a more regular topological graph structure.
 27. The method in accordance with claim 21, further comprising: for the selected point of the topological graph structure, determining at least one additional adjacent occupied area; selecting an occupied point for each additional occupied area; and determining associated location information for each additional occupied area.
 28. The method according to claim 27, wherein a node point is selected in the topological graph structure, and for the node point, at least two adjacent occupied areas are determined, occupied points are selected and associated location information is determined.
 29. The method in accordance with claim 21, wherein the topological graph structure is determined using sensor measurements generating distance information, the sensor measurements being selected from the group consisting of laser measurements, ultrasound measurements and measurements of video systems.
 30. The method in accordance with claim 21, wherein the topological graph structure is determined using a local geometrical map of the area.
 31. The method in accordance with claim 21, wherein the location has a plurality of sub-areas, and the graph is formed by combining graphs for the plurality of sub-areas.
 32. The method according to claim 31, further comprising: determining a local grid map for a portion of the location; comparing the local grid map with the graph; determining a position of the local grid map with respect to the graph based on the comparison; and using information from the local grid map to supplement the graph, at the position.
 33. The method according to claim 32, wherein the local grid map is compared with the graph by overlaying the local grid map and the graph.
 34. The method according to claim 32, wherein the location has a plurality of sub-areas, the graph is formed by combining graphs for the plurality of sub-areas, and the local grid map is compared with the graph by individually comparing the local grid map with the graphs for the sub-areas.
 35. The method according to claim 32, wherein the local grid map is determined using information from a mobile unit, the mobile unit continually generates local grid maps as the mobile unit moves, and the graph is continually updated.
 36. The method according to claim 21, further comprising: determining a local grid map for a portion of the location, at an unknown position within the location; comparing the local grid map with the graph; and determining the position of the local grid map with respect to the graph based on the comparison.
 37. The method according to claim 36 wherein the location has a plurality of sub-areas, the graph is formed by combining graphs for the plurality of sub-areas, the local grid map is compared with the graph by individually comparing the local grid map with the graphs for the sub-areas.
 38. The method in accordance with claim 36, wherein the local grid map is determined using information from a mobile unit, and the mobile unit is navigated through the location using the graph.
 39. A system to form a graph a location having a free area and an occupied area, comprising: a structure determination unit to determine a topological graph structure for the free area; a selection unit to select a point in the topological graph structure; an obstacle identification unit to identify an obstacle and to select an occupied point for the obstacle, the occupied point being at a shortest distance to the selected point of the topological graph structure; a location determination unit to determine associated location information for the occupied point; and a graph generation unit, to form the graph from the selected point of the topological graph structure and from the associated location information for the occupied point.
 40. A computer-readable medium storing program to control a computer to perform a method for forming a graph structure to describe a location having a free area and an occupied area, the method comprising: determining a topological graph structure for the free area; selecting a point in the topological graph structure; for the selected point of the topological graph structure, determining an adjacent occupied area; selecting an occupied point for the adjacent occupied area, the occupied point being at a shortest distance to the selected point of the topological graph structure; determining associated location information for the occupied point; and forming the graph from the selected point of the topological graph structure and from the associated location information for the occupied point. 